Destroyed
by Vilde Ne
Summary: Chihiro returns to the Spirit World after 5 long years, longing to see Haku. What awaits her, is a destroyed city. Together with Haku, she has to save whats left of it.
1. Chapter 1

The sun was shining through the thin curtains of Chihiro's bedroom. The sunlight hit her face, and her eyes opened immediately. She'd had the same dream again. The dream about the boy, the dragon, the spirit world. It'd been 5 years since Chihiro had been there, five long years. She had to keep her promise, though. To never look back. She got up, and looked at her calendar.

"One day ..." she mumbled. It'd been a five and a day since she first sat her foot where she'd met a world she had no idea that existed. Her walls, which used to be bright blue, were covered in drawings and paintings. She'd lost count of how many times she'd drawn the beautiful boy with the forest green hair, and the emerald green eyes. To see him again, was the only thing Chihiro wished for. When she turned 11, 12, 13, 14, and even 15, and she blew out the candles on her cake, all she wished for was to see Haku again.

"Chihiro, breakfast!" Her mom called from underneath. Chihiro'd tried to tell her mom and dad about the Spirit world, the Bath house, and about Haku, without succeeding.

"You and that imagination of yours." Chihiro's father had said. "A spirit world? Are you sure you haven't had a bit too much sugar on your Cornflakes lately?"

She walked down the stairs, and stuck her head in the door to the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, I got to go. I'm meeting... Eric in, uh, five minutes." She lied. She had to get out of the house.

"Bring your cell... " her mom called, but Chihiro didn't listen.

She slammed the door behind her, and ran into the forest on the left side of the blue house. She'd already found a path down to the entrance to the spirit world, but never dared to enter. "Don't look back." Haku had said. Was she still not allowed to do that?

The big, red stationhouse crept closer as she walked. It was covered in leaves, and the statue which was guarding the entrance, was covered in moss. She brushed away some of the moss, and the face that looked back at her scared her more than ever.

"Nice to see you, too." She thought sarcastically, and took another two steps closer to the entrance. It was no wind today, to push her inside, but that only made her more eager to enter. She stroke her finger across the red walls of the building, and saw the paint falling off.

One step at a time, she walked in to the tunnel, taking deep breaths whenever she needed to. Nothing had changed too much, except from the amount of dust that was covering the benches. The fountain stood where it had, almost hit by the coloured light from the oval window, still without a single drop of water.

She stepped out of the stationhouse, and in to the green fields. Was the world still there, or had it all been a dream?

Everything was just as she'd remembered. Small houses, statues, and grass. Lots of grass.

It put a smile on her face. Reminded her that Haku had to be real.

She ran towards the small stone steps that took her up to the restaurant aria. The dried out river was still there, and the statue of a frog was still there, welcoming her. She bowed to the statue, and kept on walking. As she walked, the sky which was bright blue down by the station, began to get a strange, purplish colour. She looked down from the sky, and at the restaurants.

It hit her like a lightening bolt. The buildings, the signs, the lamps and the plants were all destroyed. It looked like someone had just stomped on the buildings, and crushed them under its big feet. Everything was destroyed. She ran in the direction of the bath house, passing house after house, all destroyed and crushed. The bath house looked bigger than ever. Nothing was destroyed. It was like someone had drawn a line. On one of the sides, you could destroy everything you saw. On the other side, you weren't allowed to touch anything.

"I wonder ... "she whispered, and stretched out her hand.

"Don't touch it!" Someone shouted.

Chihiro took her hand back, and turned around. It was a boy standing there. Fifteen, maybe sixteen years old. He was looking at her with eyes that she recognized immediately.

It was Haku. Haku the dragon boy.

"H... Haku? " she asked shyly. "Is... Is that you?"

He smiled at her, and he reached out to take her hand away from the invisible something she wasn't allowed to touch.

"Yes, Chihiro. It's me." His voice had become deeper, and he'd grown taller. Taller and more muscular.

"I'm sorry. I know I promised we'd see each other again, but as you see, "He said, pointing at the destroyed city, "I couldn't leave."

"But ... But what happened here?"

He raised his hand, and touched Chihiro's forehead. Pictures started flowing from his head to Chihiro's. Pictures and explanations.

"When you left, I went to speak to Yubaba. I said I had to leave. I said I couldn't, and wouldn't, keep doing her dirty work. Yubaba had changed that day. Something about you changed the way she acted towards me, towards all of us. She apologized, and said she understood. I was about to leave, when I remembered I had nowhere to go. I'm an orphan, you know. So, after speaking to Yubaba, we agreed that I could stay here, without working for her. Another two weeks passed, and nothing out of the ordinary happened. I spent a huge amount of time down with Kamaiji, and he told me the most amazing stories. We talked for forever, but suddenly, one day, the electricity died. All of the lights went out, and the entire room got filled with smoke. It seemed like it couldn't get out of the chimney.

I flew out, stupid as I was, leaving Kamaiji behind, and saw something huge, black and purple, sitting on the top of our chimney. It was a Kioaro."

A new picture got into Chihiro's head. A picture of the Kioaro. It was huge, with the black body of a spider, and the upper body of a human, sort of. It wasn't quite human either. It had purple shells covering it, and the teeth of a vampire. The eyes were huge, black as the darkest night. As strong as a house, and extremely dangerous. The picture of the Kioaro scared Chihiro, and she pushed Haku's hand away.

"I saw the Kioaro, "Haku continued, and removed his hand from Chihiro's forehead. He understood she didn't want to see this, "and I saw the city. It'd ruined it completely, not leaving a single building standing. Now, it was going to destroy our bath house. I started fighting it, and it nearly killed me. If Yubaba hadn't come, I'd probably be dead by now. Yubaba created an invisible shield around the bath-house, and scared away the Kioaro. It kept coming back though, trying to break through the shield every time. I'd all but forgotten about Kamaiji, and hurried back down to tell him what had happened. I... I was too late. The smoke had filled the entire room, and I found Kamaiji on the floor. He'd tried to escape the room."

The tears pushed its way through Chihiro's eyes, and a single one managed to get through.

"Kamaiji is ... dead?"

Haku nodded and took her hand. He put his other hand against the invisible wall, and muttered the same spell he had muttered to Chihiro 5 years ago.

"_In the name of the wind and the water, let us through." _


	2. Chapter 2

Haku disappeared through what seemed to be a hole in the shield. When he did, Chihiro couldn't move. She didn't understand what had just happened. When Haku walked through, she saw him. When he was on the other side of the shield, he was invisible.

"It's not going to hurt you." She heard Haku's voice from the other side.

"Where did you... I can't see you!" She said, backing off. Suddenly, Haku's hand appeared out of thin air.

"Yes, I know. That's a part of the magic. No one from the outside can see people in side the shield, including the Kioaro. At first it confused him, but it seems like he understands it now. It has only made him more eager to break through." Haku said, his hand still waiting for Chihiro. She took it, and she was sure Haku could feel the doubt in her move. He gently dragged her inside, and she could see him again.

"Woah ... I'm sorry. I'm not used to the entire magic-thing. It's been five years, you know." She smiled, and didn't let go of his hand.

Haku smiled, and started to walk. "Yes, I've missed you. I'm sure you must be very curious about all of this. Feel free to ask questions."

He's missed her. Chihiro was about to blush when she heard that. She couldn't remember Haku like a boy sharing his feelings.

"Well … I guess I have a few questions. What happens if you touch the shield?"

"It's quite simple. It's an electricity shock. A strong one. You could've got seriously injured by it, but we have to keep it at that strength. The Kioaro is much stronger than normal people, like you. If you wonder, that's why the sky is purple all the time. Because he keeps coming back. Anyway, Yubaba is the only one that doesn't feel anything if she touches the shield. I feel a slight shock, but it doesn't bother me. That shock throws the Kioaro about two metres away, so it's not as strong as it should've been, but we can't take any risks." He said thoughtfully.

"Oh… I see." She said looking back at the wall. "Speaking of Yubaba, how is she? And Lin, is she still here?"

Haku opened the door in to the bath house, and they were met by curious frogs and women.

"Is that Chihiro?" Chihiro heard some one whisper. She heard her name everywhere, and walked closer to Haku. He noticed, and stopped.

"Everyone, listen. You remember Chihiro? She's back. Yes, she knows everything, no need to keep secrets from her. I'm taking her up to Yubaba; I think she can help us."

People gasped. One of the frogs stepped forward, looking shocked. "Are you going to make her ... "He managed to say, before Haku interrupted him.

"No, of course not. Not if she doesn't approve of it." He started to walk again, and stepped in to an elevator. He suddenly became quiet, and Chihiro kept quiet as well. A million thoughts flew through her mind, but two thoughts pushed it selves forward. What did he mean by helping them? What was the frog talking about?

They walked together against the huge doors that led in to Yubaba's office.

"It's Kohaku." He said to the door. Suddenly Chihiro remembered she'd called him Haku all the time.

"Kohaku … I'm sorry I've called you Haku all this time." She looked at her feet.

"No, it's allright. I'd rather you call me Haku. It reminds me of the first time we met. Everyone else does too, you know. Except from Yubaba." He said, and squeezed her hand a little bit.

The huge doors swung open, and Chihiro took a deep breath, afraid that she would be dragged in the same way as last time. She was right. Suddenly, they flew through the hallways, through several doors, and finally in the last one. Yubaba's office hadn't changed much. It was the same colour, but one thing missed. Yubaba wasn't sitting in her desk chair as usual. She sat in a comfy chair by the fireplace, with glasses on, reading a book.

"What is it, Kohaku?" She didn't look up.

"Chihiro is back." He said simply. Yubaba shot out of her chair, and looked at them.

"Se ... Chihiro?" She said, her eyes bigger than usual.

"Yes, Yubaba. It's me." Chihiro said, trying to smile.

"Oh, I've felt awful since you left. About the way I treated you and your parents." She took Chihiro's hand, and leaded her towards the veranda. She pointed down to where the pig houses had been.

"I felt so bad I sent all of them home." She said, sounding pleased with her self.

Haku cleared his throat, and Yubaba turned.

"I came for a reason." He said, sounding formal. "I ... I think she can help us."

Yubaba's eyes got bigger, and she stared at Haku.

"Help us? With the Kioaro problem?" She sounded doubtful.

Haku, on the other hand, remained calm.

"Yes, I think so. Don't you see? She's changed the entire Bath Houses attitude. They haven't got nasty thoughts about the humans anymore. She also finished all of your assignments, she even saved me from death it selves. Don't you think she'll be able to handle your magic? I have a feeling she'll use it well."

Yubaba looked at Chihiro, then at Haku.

"Well... I guess it's worth a try. Chihiro, do you want to help us? You don't have to, not at all, if you do not want to." She said, opening a small box that contained a match, a glass, and a piece of paper.

Chihiro looked frightened. She'd never been though. How could she fight off a Kioaro, when Haku had nearly died trying?

"I … I'll do it." She said, trying to make her voice sound confident.

Yubaba's face lit up, and she placed the match from the box on a table in front of Chihiro. She walked over to her, and touched the back of her head. A sudden rush of adrenaline floated through Chihiro's body, and she felt stronger than ever.

"Allright, dear. Try to do something with that match." Yubaba said, taking a few steps back. Chihiro raised her hands, and stretched them out, against the match. Her eyebrows got closer, and she concentrated. Suddenly, the match shot up in the air. It stood there for a few seconds, until it started shooting small balls of fire in wild directions.

"Ieh!" Yubaba shouted, pointing a finger against the match. It fell to the floor quickly.

"No, definitely not." She said as she putted the glass on the table, and touched the back of Chihiro's head once again. The same kick of adrenalin floated through her body, and she once again raised her arms. The glass standing on the table started to fill up with water, and Chihiro started to smile. Maybe this was it? Suddenly, the water got out of control. It splashed everywhere, most of it landing on Yubaba's big, white hairdo. The glass flew out the window, and Yubaba shook her head.

"Maybe…" She said, as she disappeared through a door, and got back with another small box. She opened it, and in contained a small ball of … dirt.

She placed it on the table, and touched the back of Chihiro's head once again. This time, the feeling was different. Chihiro felt like she was filled up with an indescribable power that lifted her off the floor. She floated in the air for about five seconds, before she landed. This time, she walked closer to the table, before she stretched out her arms. The ball of dirt began to rise from the table, and floated in the air. Chihiro concentrated even harder, and the ball began to grow. It got bigger and bigger, until it was about the size of Yubaba's head. She moved it, still in the air, against the doors that led out to the veranda, and she threw it up in the air. Fast as the wind, she pulled back her hands, and once again shot them out. A split second later, the dirt ball exploded in to a billion different colours, like firework. Chihiro turned around, and Yubaba smiled.

"Earth." She said, and waved Chihiro back to her. She placed both her hands at the back of Chihiro's head, and concentrated. The feeling Chihiro had had two minutes ago, was now a hundred times stronger. She felt like she could do anything.

"Earth." Haku said, and smiled.

I can't find any place to put an "authors-note" in here, so I'll just put it in some of my chapters now and then.

Chapters will be about this length, 4 pages in word, and I'll post new ones pretty often.

I hope you enjoy reading this, and tell me what you think!

V.


	3. Chapter 3

"Earth! Earth! Earth!" Chihiro heard voices all over the Bath House. The gossip had spread with the wind, and when Chihiro and Haku got out of the elevator, every pair of eyes in the room was staring at her. Suddenly, a familiar head stuck out between all of the moping frog faces.

"Lin!" Chihiro said, and waved.

"Oh, Chihiro! It's been too long! Are... are the rumours true?" She said, looking shocked.

"Uh ... yeah, I guess they are. It's not like with Haku though. She doesn't force me to do anything I do not want to." Chihiro smiled, and gave Lin an awkward, one-armed hug. Her other hand was still in Haku's hand.

"Oh, look at those frogs. Get to work, morons!" Lin yelled, and shooed them away. "So, Earth, huh? That's pretty big, honey. Are you able to …_ do_ anything yet?"

Chihiro looked at her feet, and squeezed Haku's hand.

"No, she isn't. She got her powers fifteen minutes ago; we haven't had time to practice yet." Haku said in his strict Master Haku-voice.

"Of course," Lin said, and stepped back. "I'll leave you to it. Don't forget to come by and say hi, Chihiro!"

Haku shook his head, and pulled Chihiro to the door. "I suppose we should get to work, Chihiro. You've got lots to learn."

They walked together over the red bridge. When they reached the middle, Chihiro remembered No Face. He'd stood there and stared at her. How was he? And Zeniba, how was she?

"Haku … have you seen Zeniba and No Face lately?"

"Yes, I have." He said, smiling. "They're fine. No Face have helped Zeniba a lot, they really get along. You'll be seeing them soon, too. We'll need all the help we can get."

"Oh …" Chihiro said, looking at her feet. "Are they going to help us with the Kioaro? Zeniba will manage it, but No Face? I can't leave him unable to defend himself! What if that Kioaro …"

Haku stopped her by stroking her cheek. "He'll be fine. Zeniba is also a witch, you know. No Face isn't just No Face any more." Haku stopped by the little gate that separated the main street and the garden, and pulled Chihiro inside.

"I've… well, look for your self." He said, pointing at where the pig houses had been standing. The houses were gone, but Chihiro saw something she hadn't been able to see from Yubaba's office. Haku had built a small fighting ring.

"I've been practicing a bit myself lately. I had to be able to defend the Bath House if the Kioaro were to show up. This is where we'll be practicing for the next days. We won't have too much time, though. We have a lot to do until the Kioaro shows up again.

They walked, still hand in hand, towards the fighting ring, and Chihiro saw the big marks where Haku had stood as a dragon.

They reached the little mud hill they had to run down to reach the fighting ring, and Haku stopped for a split second, before he jumped down. Chihiro ran after him, and the mud felt great under her feet. She felt like she was surfing it, instead of running on it. She felt … home.

"Allright … all of this will feel awkward the first few times, but when you get used to your powers, this will be easy." He let go of Chihiro's and in the middle of the circle, and walked a few metres back. He got a handful of dirt, and threw it against Chihiro. She stretched out her arms in pure defence and suddenly the dirt blew up in to a billion small pieces that flew everywhere.

"Allright ... You'll have to concentrate a bit." He smiled, and got another handful.

"Hey! I didn't even know you were throwing it." She said, and held her arms out. "Allright, one more time."

Haku threw it up in the air this time, and Chihiro concentrated.

_Fireworks,_ she thought with closed eyes. She opened them again, and shot her arms out. The dirt exploded into a show of colours that danced over Haku's head. Chihiro felt great, and tried to experiment with what she had managed to do. She tried to shape it. She moved her hands quickly, and Haku looked up at the dancing fireworks, impressed.

"You're better than I had any right to expect, Chihiro! Do you want to try something a little more difficult?"

"Allright." She said confidently. "Bring it on."

"Try to loosen the dirt with magic this time, and throw it at me."

Chihiro looked down, and concentrated hard.

_Come on, loosen up! _She thought when the dirt started to move. A piece as big as her head started to float. It hovered at the ground for a second, until it flew higher. When Chihiro looked up, Haku was no longer standing there. In his place, was the beautiful dragon of her dreams, shinier than ever. She knew that he was fast. She shot her arms out again, and the dirt ball flew against Haku with enormous speed. Still, he managed to fly away from it. Chihiro didn't loose the ball. She kept it floating, and pushed it against Haku, again and again. Finally, after uncountable tries, she managed to hit the end of his tail with the dirt.

"Yes!" She screamed, and punched in the air with her hand. Haku landed, switched back in to human form, and smiled at her.

"Good work, Chihiro. I'm impressed. It took me a week just to get control of the water."

Chihiro felt a wave of joy hitting her. She was better than Haku. While she was thinking, the sky had turned darker. The lamps were lit, and she could see the shining city across the ocean.

"Oh, no! I can't get home! Crap." She said, and kicked the ground.

"You can, Chihiro. I'm able to leave the Spirit world now, you know." He smiled again, and a split second later, the enormous dragon once again stood before her.

She climbed Haku's back, and he threw himself off the cliff. He was a metre from hitting the water, when he suddenly made a quick move, and flew up in the air again. Chihiro couldn't understand how he managed it, but Haku got enormous speed in just a second. He flew quicker than ever over the ocean, and passed the boat with Gods that were on its way to the Bath House. Apparently the Kioaro-problem didn't stop Yubaba from taking in customers.

The trip over to the station house took just a couple of minutes, and Haku landed just outside the door.

"Thanks, Haku. Wow… That was one fast flight." Chihiro smiled as she got of the dragons back, and looked at the dragon. Haku pulled himself together, and smiled as well. "Yes, I've become faster. I had to. You have no idea how fast that Kioaro is. At first I was fooled by its size, but that didn't last too long." He shook his head, like he was trying to throw away a flashback.

"It'll be okay, Haku, I promise. Together we can beat that … thing." She said, and hugged him.

"I … I don't know. We can't do anything but try. Hurry home, now. Your parents are waiting." He removed Chihiro's hand, and she started walking.

"I'll be back tomorrow." She said. "Meet me here." She walked through the tunnel looking at Haku as long as she could, until he disappeared. She was more excited about tomorrow than she'd ever been about any day.


End file.
